SD to Tacoma - 10/29 - photo time lapse - ???

[keoke526]

Mission - time lapse photos of the road trip from San Diego to Tacoma via the 101 with multiple stops along the way.

Why - Been back a few weeks from a one year tour and I want to drive to my new duty station.

My assignment - mount the camera and edit along the way. Test run this Friday to check alignment and rig stability. Nikon D300 with a 30mm or 50mm attached.

Things I need from you
1) Any help, suggestions, or golden egg is _______.
2) Music recommendations for the video.
3) Any recommended stops along the way?
4) Feel free to ask questions or throw out some common sense comments as well.

[keoke526]

Complete 4 test runs to try different configurations. Things I have learned so far:
1) Secure the camera firmly. I had to swerve and it almost took out the window. Bungee cord now attached to tripod.
2) camera focused prior to moving, move everything to manual mode, f8, and pick sunny for white balance.
3) Shoot in the lowest setting, since they will fly by at 1/24 of a second.
4) use an external trigger (Intravoloper) to fire the camera and all because you select a 5 second delay it will be longer due to camera delay.

More later.

[03LXV6]

I think 5 second intervals might be choppy. The scenery can change a lot within 5 seconds.

I'm thinking I would shoot in shutter priority so the camera can get the proper exposure as the lighting changes. I'm just learning though so I could be wrong.

I want to see the outcome. I plan to try some time lapse stuff but not while driving.

[keoke526]

I did try the shutter priority, but you have a flicker in the photo that becomes annoying. The f stop also plays into the flicker effect a well.

5 seconds - hit or miss on the chop. The ones I viewed I have favored the 5 second interval. I have run 4 test runs using 5, 6, 7, & 8 seconds so far. Still like the 5 second rule.

Have to be in Seattle for work on Monday the 5th so I should have something up by then.

[keoke526]

Day 1 completed, picked up the 1 in San Clemente and made to Vandenberg AFB before the sun went down. Had the camera set manual mode, F 9, 400, manual focus, and actuation every 5 seconds.

During the city run every 5 seconds was fine since it was a lot of stop and go. During the open road phase the 5 seconds seemed a little to far as stated above. When I did the test runs it was in an area I was familiar with so I did not take that into effect. On the other hand going a shorter time frame is not a good option because who really want to watch a show more than 4 minutes long about the open road.

Yesterday was 4,215 photos for 2:55 worth of video. Based on some flimsy estimations, my total road trip video would be a minimum of 12 minutes up to 20 minutes. I have a feeling I may abandon the time lapse project, but still continue the journey along the 1 (101 at times) just to see the great PCH.

All because I abandon the project does not mean I have not learned to respect the time and dedication it takes to edit and compile the information nor the talent it takes to makes a good time lapse video. More to follow, time to start the trip again and I am guessing San Francisco may be the next stop. Only a few hours away (the quick route) but since I was stationed at Treasure Island the city holds some memories.

[03LXV6]

Maybe you could just edit it down to 4 minutes. Just cut out some parts that are boring.

I read about some people capturing up 100K photos for their timelapse. That would be more than half my shutter life.